Winners of Scotland can Make it! announced

Ceramic jelly moulds, travel blankets, politicised tenement-shaped jewellery, a sports wear accessory, an iPhone app, and medals made from Tunnocks teacakes. No, not an eccentric Christmas list: these are the winners of Scotland Can Make It! a nationwide competition which asked Scotland’s artists and designers to create a series of souvenirs inspired by London 2012 and the Glasgow Commonwealth Games of 2014, manufactured entirely in Scotland. And there’s not a single keyring or tartan shortbread tin amongst them.

The six winning collaborations, including Scottish manufacturers TUNNOCKS, JOHNSTONS OF ELGIN and CHEMIKAL UNDERGROUND, rock band FOUND, internationally renowned visual artist LUCY MCKENZIE and much-lauded ceramicist KATY WEST will now go on to create prototypes of their designs, working in conjunction with Scottish manufacturing companies, which will be displayed in a major exhibition at Glasgow’s People’s Palace in 2012. Beyond 2012, Scotland Can Make It! organisers Panel will investigate the possibility of production, distribution and sale of the final souvenirs leading up to and coinciding with cultural activities planned for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July 2014.

As the competition was created to enable relationships between Scotland’s creative and industrial sectors, each entrant was asked to specify a Scottish-based manufacturer they would work with on the project. Entries were judged by a panel featuring some of the UK’s most influential art and design professionals, including Turner Prize Winner 2011 Martin Boyce, leading design retailer Sheridan Coakley, Alasdair Campbell (former director, The Tolbooth, Stirling) and Christina Jansen (Curator, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh).

• Textile designer Claire Duffy will work with legendary Scottish confectionary brand Tunnocks on TUNNOCKS MEDALS: a re-working of the iconic Tunnocks Teacake foil wrapping into gold, silver and bronze medals, packaged as a three-set in souvenir boxes: perfect as prizes for sports days or just a fun way to get families involved by staging their own mini games!

• THE GOLDEN TENEMENT, a collaboration between graphic designer Neil McGuire and goldsmith/jeweller Marianne Anderson, proposes to investigate urban regeneration and displacement, and how particular ideas of ‘city’ and ‘nation’ are perpetuated through mega-events such as London 2012 and Glasgow 2014. Miniature replicas of the tenement building in Dalmarnock that was pulled down to make way for the Commonwealth Games’ infrastructure, will be mass-produced to be sold as souvenirs in 2014. These replicas will call attention to the story of the residents’ eviction, and to other stories of displacement through regeneration.

• Taking the line that while events like the Olympics or Commonwealth Games are historical occasions, in commemorating the day you’re as likely to be remembering a good time with family or friends, Atelier (fashion designer Beca Lipscombe and internationally-renowned artist Lucy McKenzie), working with Marc Camille Chaimowicz, propose to create a set of three LAMBSWOOL TRAVEL BLANKETS, manufactured by master weavers Begg Scotland of Ayr, with leather carry-cases made by McROSTIE of Glasgow. The blankets are intended to be used for picnicking, or wrapping up warmly, at outdoor events.

• Ceramicist Katy West, whose designs have been shortlisted for Homes and Gardens Classic Design Award and featured in Elle Décor and Wallpaper*, proposes to work with North West Highland pottery, Highland Stoneware to create CERAMIC JELLY MOULDS in the shape of iconic Scottish skylines, both rural and urban. The moulds tap into a historic Scottish design tradition, paying homage to the 17^th Century designs of Glasgow company Bells Pottery. West proposes to work with a number of high-profile Scottish chefs on sweet and savoury jelly recipes to accompany each design, reclaiming the jelly from a children’s party staple as a specifically Scottish delicacy.

• Art-pop band FOUND, perhaps best-known for their BAFTA-winning ‘autonomous emotional robot band’ Cybraphon, exhibited at both the Edinburgh and Glasgow International Festivals of Visual Art in 2010, have questioned whether a souvenir need necessarily be a physical product at all. Working with Glasgow record label Chemikal Underground, they’ve proposed a SOUVENIR APP, designed to actively encourage users to return to the London 2012 and Glasgow 2014 sites. Depending on the user’s global positioning, each audio-visual app will reveal more and more of a specially-created piece of music and accompanying artwork.

• Weave designer Angharad McLaren and Emlyn Firth of A Visual Agency propose to work with renowned Scottish textile manufacturers Johnstons of Elgin to create a new fabric for sportswear accessories. They plan to use the popularity of sports performance apparel as casual wear among broader Glasgow society as a genuine way to engage people from diverse backgrounds in sporting activity.

 

Lucy McEachan and Catriona Duffy of Panel said: “Souvenirs communicate a strong message about an experience, a place, and its culture. The winning Scotland Can Make It! proposals will bring well-designed Scottish products to public attention, in addition to focusing our industrial sector’s attention on good design. Representing the breadth of contemporary Scottish creativity, the proposals range from affordable pieces, through limited-edition designs, to complex proposals that explore our relationship to large-scale events such as the Commonwealth Games.“

Iain Munro, Director of Creative Development at Creative Scotland, said: ‘Scotland Can Make It! offers a great platform to showcase our creative and manufacturing talent to national and international audiences during two major events: the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Next September’s exhibition will be a highlight of the Year of Creative Scotland – a chance for us to support, showcase and celebrate Scotland’s creativity.’

Event Team Scotland

EventScotland and Volunteer Development Scotland (VDS) this week announced the launch of Event Team Scotland, a new online database to connect volunteers and events across Scotland.

‘Event Team Scotland’ will provide volunteers with varying levels of experience the opportunity to participate in sporting, cultural and charity events taking place across Scotland. For event organisers, the volunteering database will provide a bank of potential volunteers in local areas, regionally and across Scotland who can provide general or more specialist event support.

Shona Robison, Minister for Public Health said, “Volunteers will play a crucial role in the success of 2014. But we would encourage people to volunteer and be active in their local communities now which will give them valuable experience for applying as a volunteer at major events such as the Commonwealth Games in the future. This database provides an ideal platform for matching the skills of volunteers with the needs of major event organisers and will help leave a real legacy for volunteering across all of Scotland.”

Event Team Scotland provides a platform for the development and training of an experienced volunteer workforce in the years leading to Scotland hosting both the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games in 2014. The Games alone will require around 15,000 volunteers, and it is hoped they will go on to form part of a sustainable workforce for Scotland’s events industry in the years to come.

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland said, “Scotland’s events industry would not succeed without the hard work and commitment of volunteers. The support and skills that volunteers provide helps create the perfect stage for participants and spectators. Being part of some wonderful cultural and sporting events is very rewarding for those giving their time and skills. We hope Event Team Scotland will help more people share in the event experience.”

Volunteer Development Scotland, Scotland’s centre for volunteering excellence, will host the database as they continue to seek out new methods to modernise approaches to volunteering. Event Team Scotland is one in number of initiatives which VDS have developed to enhance and improve access to volunteering opportunities for both volunteers and event organisers. Once registered, users will be connected to a network of opportunities and event contacts across Scotland.

George Thomson, Chief Executive for Volunteer Development Scotland said, “We are continually working to drive forward modern, resourceful and creative approaches to volunteering for the people of Scotland and this new database is an example of our commitment to this. Volunteering is more important now than ever. It delivers a huge amount of benefits to public, private and charitable organisations right across Scotland and also benefits the individual. Not only can volunteering help develop skills and build confidence it can also create employment opportunities and help develop friendships and improve communities.

This year is the European Year of Volunteering, so we hope people across Scotland will make 2011 the year to get involved in volunteering and use the new database to find an opportunity that matches their lifestyle and personal interests.”

Amongst the organisations already registered on Event Team Scotland are Cycling Scotland for the freshnlo Pedal for Scotland charity ride between Glasgow and Edinburgh in September; Rare Management, for the Mountain Bike World Cup in June; and Traquair House for the Traquair Fair in August.   Events will be looking for people from a range of backgrounds including marshals, car park attendants, masseurs and bike mechanics.

David Grevemberg, Chief Operating Officer Glasgow 2014 said, “Volunteers will provide a key element of our workforce across a wide range of jobs, and it will be a fantastic opportunity for people from all walks of life to get involved in the Commonwealth Games.  Event Team Scotland, through the new volunteering database, will provide an excellent way for people to start volunteering, especially for those who haven’t done it before.  We are looking forward to working with Event Team Scotland when we actively start recruiting volunteers in 2012.”

The site is being launched today as the start of the year is seen as a peak time for volunteer registrations as people set their New Year’s resolutions and look to give something back to the community. Event Team Scotland is aiming to bridge the gap between those looking to provide help and those requiring it.

Event Team Scotland is being delivered by EventScotland in partnership with Volunteer Development Scotland as A games legacy for Scotland programme.

Delhi handover in Edinburgh

Ninety primary school children from across Edinburgh will strut their stuff in Festival Square, Edinburgh on Thursday 14th October as they perform a special ‘sport dance’ to celebrate the Delhi Commonwealth Games Handover Ceremony taking place at this year’s Commonwealth Games. The Edinburgh Commonwealth Games Handover event, which is part of EventScotland’s Games for Scotland initiative, is one of a number of events taking place across the country designed to create a sense of pride around Scotland’s hosting of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.

The children from Stenhouse, Prestonfield and Royal Mile Primary Schools have been training hard with instructors from Dance Base, national centre for dance, to prepare for their Games for Scotland dance exhibition. Their dance will be performed in front of the Big Screen before the Delhi Handover Ceremony is broadcast live from India.

Sport Dance involves using sports skills choreographed into a dance routine.

Culture Minister Fiona Hyslop will introduce the young dancers’ performance.

Ms Hyslop said: “This handover ceremony will mark the start of the official countdown to Scotland hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014. The Games present an unrivalled opportunity to show the world what our nation has to offer and to create a lasting legacy for the whole of Scotland.

“Already the Games are inspiring Scots to get involved and to get active. It is fantastic to see so many communities joining in the celebrations as we start our push to Get Scotland Dancing and create an Active Nation.”

The Games for Scotland event in Festival Square has been organised by the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games Legacy Group, namely: the City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Leisure, NHS Lothian, Festivals Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh and Stevenson College.

Edinburgh’s three Delhi handover ‘cast members’, who were selected to represent the city in the Games’ mass-choreographed closing ceremony, have produced a video blog diary of their time at Bootcamp. This will also be broadcast on the Big Screen on Thursday afternoon.

The Handover Ceremony marks the Flag Handover from Delhi to Glasgow, and includes an eight-minute creative programme to showcase Glasgow and Scotland to the rest of the world. The performance, which will involve a mass choreographed dance routine, will take place in the spectacular Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in front of a stadium audience of 60,000 during the Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The performance will be beamed live across the Commonwealth to an estimated audience of 1 billion people.

Councillor Deidre Brock, Culture and Leisure Convenor for the City of Edinburgh, said: “Edinburgh has forged a reputation as one of the World’s leading destinations for major sporting events and we’re committed, through our successful Activcity programme, to harnessing the excitement of these occasions to inspire residents of all ages to discover the benefits of a healthy active lifestyle. We and our partners, including Edinburgh Leisure, are already working extremely hard to ensure that the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games leave a lasting, valuable legacy for future generations to come. This handover ceremony celebration in Festival Square is an excellent way of publicly demonstrating this commitment.”

Edinburgh Leisure Legacy Officer, Shelagh Jackson, said: “Edinburgh Leisure is delighted to be a key partner in this exciting and energetic event which marks the official handover of The Commonwealth Games to Scotland.  Edinburgh Leisure’s core purpose is to ensure as many people in Edinburgh become and stay active and we look forward to exploring the wealth of opportunities to inspire the people of Edinburgh to take part in physical activity that becoming host nation to The Commonwealth Games will bring.”

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, the national events agency, said: “The Edinburgh Commonwealth Games Handover Event is a fantastic event which we are delighted to be supporting as part of the Games for Scotland programme. The event will provide local community members with the opportunity to unite and take pride in Scotland’s role as host of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. It is a fantastic example of Edinburgh Council’s contribution to making Scotland the perfect stage for events.”

Minister for Public Health and Sport, Shona Robison, said: “I’m delighted to see all 32 local authorities taking part and joining in the celebrations around the handover of the Commonwealth Games to Scotland. The range of these events will help make the Handover a memorable occasion across Scotland and build real excitement and involvement in our communities as we take a significant step to hosting the Games in 2014. We want to create a lasting legacy from the games and we want to get the country involved. The events will be a chance for Scots all over the country to join in, be inspired and get active.”

Scotland in Delhi

The fact that The Commonwealth Games are taking place in Delhi may be passing some of you by… but we must tell you that as well as the athletes who have gone to take part in their individual and team disciplines, some prominent Scottish politicians have flown there too. So in case you are interested here is The Scottish Government’s Flickr Photostream of Delhi 2010 so far

Delhi here we come

Team Scotland are off to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

Michael Cavanagh, Chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland announced that the CGS Board had made the decision to fly out to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi today as planned. This follows confirmation from the Team’s Chef de Mission, Jon Doig, that progress continues to be made and guarantees have been given by the Delhi 2010 Organising Committee and the Commonwealth Games Federation that all the outstanding issues will be resolved prior to the arrival of the team. Based on this, Team Scotland is able to confirm its participation.

STV has some photographs of the athletes as they were about to leave for India.

Michael Cavanagh announced:- “I am delighted that the Board has been able to confirm our intention to fly to the Games on Saturday as hoped. There will undoubtedly be challenges ahead in Delhi, but we are confident that these can be effectively managed by our Team management, who have done a fantastic job over the last week to ensure we could get to this position and we thank them for their unstinting efforts.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our athletes who have remained calm throughout these extremely difficult few days and continued to pledge their commitment to the team. I know how hard they have worked to get themselves in the best possible shape for the Games and I am delighted that they will now get the opportunity they deserve to show just what they can do. They have already made us very proud and I know they will represent us with the pride and passion that makes members of Team Scotland so unique.”

Jon Doig, Team Scotland Chef de Mission said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming the athletes to Delhi and are working hard to finalise preparations. We are really grateful to the people of Scotland for the tremendous support they have shown us and we hope they can now look forward to watching our athletes compete at the Games.”

On hearing the news lawn bowler, Willie Wood said: “I am absolutely delighted to hear that we will be travelling to Delhi tomorrow as planned. It’s great to see that things have moved on significantly from the start of the week, and I can now focus on competing for Scotland at my eighth Commonwealth Games.”

The sports due to travel today are: Archery, Lawn Bowls, Shooting, Tennis and Weightlifting. According to Team Scotland, plans are currently being finalised to reschedule those who were due to travel yesterday (Rugby 7s, Boxing and Wrestling) and it is anticipated that they will now travel on Tuesday 28 September.

Public Health and Sport Minister Shona Robison attended the third emergency meeting of the Glasgow 2014 strategic Group. After the meeting she said:-”Following the third emergency meeting of the Glasgow 2014 Strategic Group, I am delighted that Commonwealth Games Scotland now feel they are in a position to confirm that our athletes will travel to compete in the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

“The Scottish Government and its partners have been working hard to ensure that Team Scotland participates in the Delhi Games and I would like to commend our athletes for their positive attitude during a very challenging time.

“I was grateful to receive an update from the Indian Minister for Sport MS Gill yesterday who provided much needed assurances that action was now being taken to address outstanding health and safety concerns over the Athletes Village. We have accepted the guarantees of the Indian authorities and the Commonwealth Games Federation that these issues are being addressed as a matter of urgency.

“I will continue dialogue with the Indian government and will speak with the Minister again today to ensure that further progress is made.

“All Games partners will continue to cooperate to ensure Team Scotland have an enjoyable and successful Commonwealth Games and I look forward to waving off the first athletes at Glasgow airport tomorrow.”

Team Scotland left Glasgow Airport on an Emirates flight this morning. This is the shooting team at check-in!

You can follow what happens to Team Scotland during the Commonwealth Games on Twitter

We feel moved however to comment on the Team Scotland website. Apart from the front page it is a bit poor. There are old articles, links which do not work and few photographs. C’mon Scotland – you can do better than this!

One Scottish tennis player, Elena Baltacha, has since withdrawn from the games as she fears for her health. The BBC online has the full story.

Delhi here we come!

The athletes who will represent Scotland at next month’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi were named today.

Scots will compete in 16 of the 17 sports disciplines in India. The oldest is 72-year-old bowler Willie Wood, at the Games for a record eighth time, and the youngest is diver Grace Reid, aged 14.

The Delhi Games will be held between October 3 and 14. Glasgow is to be the host city in 2014.

Sport Minister Shona Robison said:

“I wish all the athletes selected to represent Team Scotland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi the very best of luck. All of these athletes have reached this point through sheer hard work, dedication and commitment and are an inspiration to us all.

“The 2010 Games is a perfect platform for our athletes to demonstrate their talent and ability on the international sporting stage. The Games will also provide experience for those who have aspirations to compete for Scotland in front of a home crowd when Glasgow hosts the Games in 2014. I am looking forward to going to Delhi to support the team and I’m sure I will witness some outstanding performances.”